Buterin stressed that the Ethereum ecosystem must now focus less on short-term trends and more on long-term infrastructure.
In a post shared on X on January 1, 2026, Buterin reflected on Ethereum’s technical wins in 2025. However, he stressed that the ecosystem must now focus less on short-term trends and more on long-term infrastructure.
According to Buterin, Ethereum made major advances last year. Gas limits were increased, blob capacity expanded, node software became more reliable, and zero-knowledge EVMs crossed key performance milestones. He said upgrades such as zkEVMs and PeerDAS marked Ethereum’s biggest step yet toward becoming a fundamentally new type of blockchain.
Still, Buterin said the network faces a clear challenge. Ethereum, he argued, should not chase whatever narrative is currently popular, whether tokenized dollars or political memecoins. It should also not focus on filling block space simply to boost ETH economics. Instead, he said Ethereum must stay focused on its core goal: building a global computer that supports a more open and free internet.
Buterin described Ethereum as a platform for applications that run without fraud, censorship, or third-party control. These applications, he said, should keep working even if their original developers disappear or major internet services fail.
He emphasized that Ethereum-based apps should be resilient enough to survive hacks, corporate collapse, and political change, while also protecting user privacy. In his view, modern technology has moved in the opposite direction, turning everyday tools into subscription services controlled by centralized providers. Ethereum, he said, is meant to be the alternative.
To reach that goal, Buterin said Ethereum must scale while remaining truly decentralized. This applies not only to the blockchain itself, but also to the software that runs it and the applications built on top.
He acknowledged that progress is already happening, but said much more work is needed. Still, Buterin ended his message on an optimistic note, saying Ethereum has the tools to succeed if the community applies them well.
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BNBUSDCWelcome to 2026! Milady is back. Ethereum did a lot in 2025: gas limits increased, blob count increased, node software quality improved, zkEVMs blasted through their performance milestones, and with zkEVMs and PeerDAS ethereum made its largest step toward being a fundamentally Show more
The costs to use Ethereum are at an all-time low. The liquidity & capital velocity in low-risk DeFi (lending, stablecoins) on Ethereum are at an all-time high. The Ethereum core dev shipping pace is at an all-time high. Exciting times.
